e ichigan Daily
Vol. XCI, No. 23-S
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Saturday, June 6, 1981
Ten Cents
Sixteen Pages
' therapy
program not
Mirrored image
A different view of the carilloneur's Burton Tower is seen in the puddle left
after yesterday's torrential downpour.
Computer age Ips in
uest for financil aiEd
By ANN MARIE FAZIO
While admitting that discontinuance
of the University's physical therapy
training program would adversely af-
fect the current national and statewide
shortage of physical therapists, such
allied health programs are not among
the medical school's first priorities, ac-
cording to the school's spokesman.
Medical School Dean John Grovall
has made a recommendation to
University Vice President for
Academic Affairs Bill Frye that the
University's physical therapy program
be discontinued, pushing the program
on to further review and, eventually,
possible consideration by the Univer-
sity Regents.
Gronvall has refused comment on his
recommendation.
"THE MEDICAL school can't do it
all," said Joseph Owsley, of the Univer-
sity Hospital's public relations office.
Owsley said the school can't be respon-
sible for all types of health care
training, and that in order to maintain
the quality of the programs it has, the
emphasis must be on those with the
highest priority.
The physical therapy program is an
"auxiliary" program, he explained.
But, according to Russel Wolfe,
physical therapist consultant for the
state Department of Public Health,
"Physical therapy is a very well-
established part of the medical world."
WOLFE, A physical therapist him-
self, said he is concerned about the
field's shortage. "Physical therapy is a
vital part of rehabilitation," he said,
adding that he has never seen a
rehabilitation center without a physical
therapist.
These centers and other health care
facilities throughout the state need
more therapists, he continued. "The
question I'm asking is, 'Where are we
going to get all the physical therapists
we need?' "he said.
Owsley contends that the slack could
be taken up by other institutions in the
state or by "importing" therapists
from other states.
ANOTHER alternative, he said, lies
in the state's power to establish
training centers elsewhere. Wolfe ex-
pressed concern, however, especially
because there are only two state
schools with accredited physical
therapy programs - the University
and Wayne State University. He said he
questioned whether Wayne State would
be able to handle the influx of other
studenta that may want to go there if
the University's program is dropped.
THE RECOMMENDATION to
discontinue the University's program
came after three years of attempts to
increase University financial and ad-
ministrative support for the program,
according to Physical Therapy,
Curriculum Director Richard Darnell.
Darnell said he thinks the program in
its current form will not meet the
national accreditation standards,
which were raised within the last two
years. The University's program needs
four or five additional courses to give
graduates enough background to take
the state board licensing test, let alone
pass it, he said.
If the program does not get the sup-
port it needs, Darnell has said, it should
be "discontinued in an orderly and
equitable fashion."
IN HIS recommendation, Gronvall
said that the physical therapy program
is "not central to the mission of the
medical school."
This "mission," according to Owsley,
is primarily to train doctors and nurses.
The medical school does not have as
great a responsibility to the state to
supply physical therapists as it does to
supply nurses and doctors, he said.
These priorities have been developed
over a period of years by executive
faculty members, Owsley said.
MARCIA WIGHTMAN, director of
physical therapy at University Hospital
said, in a statement to the hospital's
Public Information Office, "I believe
our academic program is a strong fac-
tor in attracting physical therapists
here and enhancing our ability to
provide quality patient care. If the
program is discontinued, it may affect
our ability to recruit physical
therapists."
And, according to state consultant
Wolfe, the University has always had a
good reputation for training and
educating well-qualified physical
therapists.
Owsley said details of how the
program would be phased out have not
been worked out yet, but that they
would be designed to minimize the im-
pact on faculty and students.
By MARK GINDIN
There is scholarship money out there,
and lots of it, floating around unused
because nobody knows about it, accor-
ding to a nationwide computerized
scholarship locator service.
"Last year alone over $135 million of
student financial aid went unused,"
said Ed Rosenwasser, head of Student
College Aid, located in Houston.
"Students have 250,000 sources of non-
governmental sources of financial aid
available but most students don't know
these sources exist and don't realize
they qualify," he said.
STUDENT COLLEGE Aid, and
similar organizations use a computer to
match a student with the appropriate
sources, Rosenwasser said. "The
student merely fills out a data form
requesting non-financial information
about the family and self," he said.
"It's like computer dating," said
Mary Ann Maxin, executive director of
Scholarship Search in New York. The
student fills out a 39-question data form
listing such things as career goals, in-
tended major, parental background,
and interests, she said.
"The data is run through the com-
puter, which generates a print-out
listing the sources of aid appropriate
for that student," Rosenwasser ex-
plained.
"THE AVERAGE student gets 10 to
20 listings of potential scholarships,"
said Maxin of Scholarship Search. "It
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